After a sensational Heisman Trophy-winning season in 2012, Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Johnny Manziel will fold under immense pressure in 2013. Assuming he plays this year, which isn’t a certainty, he will have a season unbecoming of a Heisman winner, and will receive a rude awakening from the rest of the SEC.
All of Manziel’s shenanigans away from the field during the offseason (and there have been a lot of them) paint the picture of someone that just doesn’t get it. Manziel doesn’t get that fame and notoriety come with a lot of good, as well as a lot of bad, and that he needs to be accepting of both sides. His antics also indicate a lack of focus on football, and too much devotion to the spoils of being a college football star.
Between a lack of focus on football and the massive amounts of pressure on him due to being the reigning Heisman winner, as well as the persona he has created, it’s hard to imagine someone who has displayed such immaturity being able to overcome all of that and also lead his team to the top of the SEC West, the best division in college football.
Not only will there be metaphorical pressure weighing Manziel down during the season, but there will also be literal pressure coming from the defenses of the Alabama Crimson Tide, Ole Miss Rebels, LSU Tigers and the rest of the SEC. Those defenses are scary enough in an ordinary week, but when it’s time to play Texas A&M, there’s no doubt that they’ll be gunning for the Heisman winner extra hard.
Not only will the elite defenses of the SEC be coming after Manziel with added ferocity, but they will also have a better idea of how to go after him without letting him run wild. While Manziel was out enjoying his fame during the offseason, those defenses were busy figuring out how to stop him, and it’s not a leap to think that difference in work ethic will pay off for those defenses against Manziel during the season.
Hopefully, Manziel enjoyed his offseason, because when the season gets underway and the Aggies get into SEC play, he’s in store for a rude awakening. The pressure he’s under as last year’s Heisman winner, the pressure he’ll come under from opposing defenses and his lack of focus on football this offseason will ultimately overwhelm him and be too much handle, causing Manziel to crumble in 2013.
Bryan Zarpentine is a New York Mets writer at www.RantSports.com. He also writes frequently about the NFL, College Football, College Basketball, and International Soccer. Like him on Facebook, follow him on twitter @BZarp and add him to your network on Google+.
